So you have now made a conscientious decision to look to either upgrade or downsize and you have certain perimeters that will satisfy your specific needs and wants.
There are times when a wife, significant other or husband is very adamant about what they want in the home and have a list of pre-requisites that they are searching for; whether it be as simple as an eat-in-kitchen, gas heat, new appliances, or something more substantial like a new kitchen and bathrooms, new roof, new utilities, etc, or whatever you feel is most important to you and your family.
You already know what towns and neighborhoods that you would like to reside within as well as the specific school district that you decided upon for your children to go to. However, even when downsizing, I have always recommended to still buy into the best schools for the money you are spending because this will always provide better value and above average appreciation in the future, when and if you decide to sell again.
Even when those who are considering renting, they should be very cognizant of the best school districts for the “biggest bang” for their buck, within the price-point that they can afford.
Many times people aren’t willing to consider trade-offs from the get-go, because we always want as much as we can get for our money and that is understandable. Maybe the home you want needs a lot of work and you aren’t willing to go through a gut renovation.
But if you want to derive the most optimum situation, buying an “ugly duckling” to turn it into a beautiful “swan” as long as the budget is available. Moreover, you will be building in value and appreciation right from the start.
Buying into another homeowner’s renovations is another path that can be taken as long as you can appreciate what they have completed and to what level of renovation they have gone to. Also, you need to determine whether or not it aligns with your particular tastes; especially when your wife or significant other is very demanding and picky; because it’s always about “happy wife, happy life.”
In my professional opinion people should first consider sitting down in the evening and make up a wish list (champagne tastes and sometimes beer pockets) and at the same time the most important things that you absolutely desire in the beginning and are not willing to trade-off, but in the long run, some will take a step back and get more realistic about their specific, needs and wants to come to a more pragmatic and logical approach.
Unless you have a blank check or are paying outright for your purchase one needs to be very careful when buying their first and even their second or vacation home. Upgrading and renovating a single or multi-family home, homeowner association, condo or coop, can either be an arduous and complicated process if not planned out or you can have a more pleasant experience when one does their homework and “crosses the tees and dots the “I”s when adding those items that you had originally traded off and then deciding what to add since you now want to add what was missing from your “wish list.”
Some price-points are now still at an all-time high from the implosion in 2008, while others; due to our wonderful S.A.L.T. tax has put a kibosh on the prices of higher-end homes in the blue states with taxes of $20,000 and higher, have definitely softened and gone down.
New homes with all the “bells and whistles” are taking 1 or more years to secure a prospective buyer; however, this is the most opportune season to consider purchasing a trade-up or higher-priced home, especially right after a snowfall, when there are fewer people going out in that kind of weather.
Being in the financial position to get those trade-offs many times, can be accomplished more easily in the winter than at any other time of the year.
However, there are times the process of trading off one important item for another can be a very crucial factor in your decision making; to enable you to realize and to conclude what is really important and not stand on ceremony in desiring everything, as opposed to those things that are important like the location, location and your school district!
Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 Great Neck. He has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute and also as a Certified International Property Specialist. He can be reached by cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email, at Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com.
